Wandering Artist's Journal

The day started with a few of us painting in Franklin Square park- I noticed with interest, the different focus for each of us: Ink & watercolor flowers, wide-view watercolors of trees, pen sketches of the other artists, purely imaginary subjects in pencil and iPad explorations (soon abandoned due to glare.) There was an easy camaraderie, with no need for explanations or justifications. The sun briefly graced us with its light, if not much heat. After moving on to the studio potluck at nearby Project Artaud, things really warmed up. About 20 people arrived, bearing food, cameras, musical instruments, and stories - and all were shared. Smaller groups kept breaking away to visit nearby studios and listen to artists talk about their current work. It was an inspirational evening, with plenty of new ideas to think about, and some new connections sparked between artists.

The afternoon started with a visit to Project Artuad and the studio of painter E. Dale Erickson . His latest painting is a realist image of a window at SFMOMA, inspired by Frank Stella's early minimalist paintings - the ones with a strong vertical rectangle and horizontal bars. (Sorry, I couldn't find a good example on the web.) Dale's painting is on the easel in the photo above. Video of him explaining his new palette lifter is here . Next we stopped off at the studio of Maude "Bones Are My Business, Baby" Kirk , to gift her with a baby bird corpse that she will undoubtedly turn into something beautifully gruesome. She's currently working on a series of Goya-homage commissions. In the hall we noticed this painting by resident artist, Bern Rauch : "afterimage in the eyes of the prey" (below) Onward to Philz Coffee at Folsom & 24th Street , were we waited for the rest of the gang to catch up with us. As always, Philz was comfortable, friendly, ...